The Jacksonville Jaguars moved on from general manager Trent Baalke after 2024 and hired James Gladstone to replace him. Gladstone has wasted no time leaving his mark with the Jags but needed to keep around a handful of executives to help him prepare for the offseason. Now that the NFL Draft is over, he's cutting ties with them.
Neil Stratton of Inside the League noted that pro scout Geep Chryst was no longer listed on the Jaguars' official website. He had previously reported that the director of college scouting Michael Davis' name was also scraped off the team's directory.
Mia O'Brien of 1010XL later confirmed that the Jags parted ways with both Chryst and Davis, along with senior personnel executive Tom Gamble. The latest moves follow the dismissal of assistant general manager Ethan Waugh.
This isn't necessarily a surprise. When a new general manager takes over, he keeps some scouts and executives from the previous regime because they've already spent months laying out a strategy for both free agency and the draft. This work encompasses profiles, cap projections, and anything related to players a team may be interested in pursuing.
In the Jags' case, Gladstone no longer had use for Waugh or Gamble, who were brought in by his predecessor. Sure, there's a chance the new general manager may want to keep some holdovers, but this wasn't the case.
Already, Gladstone had poached right-hand man Jake Tamme from the Los Angeles Rams front office early in the offseason. Together, the duo implemented a version of the system they previously had that allowed them to sort out prospects.
James Gladstone's leaving no traces of Trent Baake's stint with the Jaguars
With the dismissal of Tom Gamble and Ethan Waugh, James Gladstone is consolidating power with the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that's a good thing. He isn't going power hungry but is rather structuring the front office in a way that will allow him to run it like a well-oiled machine. Already, he ran the draft his way, and now that there are no longer holdovers from the previous regime, or at least not any at prominent positions, he can mold the franchise the way he wants.
You could make the case that leaving so much responsibility to a first-time general manager is risky, but Trent Baalke had years of experience at the position and wasn't able to put together a Super Bowl-caliber roster. This isn't to say that Gladstone will, but at least the Jags are giving him the chance to fully implement his philosophy without interference.
If he fails, at least James Gladstone tried things his way. But if he succeeds, the Jaguars will have enough talent to become a perennial contender.